Microsoft puts its mouse in Mac clothing

The new Microsoft Notebook Mouse for Mac is really a repackaged version of the company's existing Bluetooth mouse.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft's current packaging apparently wasn't drawing too many Mac users, even with its inviting "Certified for Windows Vista" logo.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft is looking to make its Bluetooth notebook mouse more Mac friendly.

The emphasis in that sentence is on the word "looking."

The software maker hasn't made any software or hardware changes to the Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000. It has, however, created new retail packaging for the product, dubbing it Microsoft Notebook Mouse for Mac.

Gone is the red packaging and the "Certified for Windows Vista" logo. In its place is a Mac logo and white packaging. Of course, the same mouse is inside, meaning the Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 works perfectly well on a Mac, while the Microsoft Notebook Mouse for Mac has no problem working with Vista, or XP for that matter.

The mouse in its new packaging will be available this month with an estimated retail price of $49.95.

It will be interesting to see if Mac users take to the new packaging. The company has a mixed track record in the Mac space. Its Office for Mac is a huge seller and many people cite its availability as a key factor in their being willing to switch to a Mac.

But it has pulled back on other efforts, including killing its ill-fated MSN for Mac service, Internet Explorer, and Virtual PC for Mac.

[planetboom]

Want more Mac buyers, Microsoft?

Take that damn MS logo off of the mouse!

[rhsc]

get over yourself

it's a mouse. nothing more.

[Lee in San Diego]

They are good mice

My experience with MicroSoft branded mice on my Macs has been
positive, they were pretty good.

[ittesi259]

MS Mouse better than "Mighty Mouse"

Sure that apple mouse looks nice, but after a week of using that thing (again designed for looks not function) I unplugged it and grabbed my laptop MS mouse, which doesn't make my hand/wrist hurt.

Apple, you make great stuff, thats why I use it...can you please look into some ergonomics?

[jelloburn]

Umm...

Microsoft branded mice are actually pretty good I personally don't
care about what is branded on my mouse. My Mighty Mouse has an
Apple logo on top, but I never notice it, because, like most people, I
don't spend much time looking at my mouse.

[rhsc]

yeah, and?

aspyr did that for guitar hero 3 as well. Go ***** them out too

[this1!]

who's bitching any1 out?

did you read the article?? not once did he state any opinions, all he did was state his observations, with the exception of the picture captions.

[bpapa9013]

Can you blame M$ for pandering to them?

Can you really blame micro$oft for pandering to people who care more about what a product looks like than how it performs? Not to mention the fact that they probably assume any M$ product is probably not Mac compatible, in addition to generally having trained themselves to ignore anything that says Micro$oft on it...

Not that I like M$, but it is a sound merchandising strategy.

[Penguinisto]

That's where a huge # of MSFT customers went...

...and there's more and more new Mac buyers every day.

This is yet another example of Microsoft chasing markets again.

/P

[kelmon]

Clear Communication != Pandering

Look, I'm sorry but some Microsoft hardware does not have drivers
to make it work on a Mac so I'm pleased that Microsoft is clearly
communicating that this product does. This is not pandering but
rather ensuring that the customer knows exactly what they are
buying and can make a confident purchase. However, it should be
perfectly possible to communicate this on a single style of
packaging but Microsoft clearly prefers to advertise Windows for
obvious reasons normally.

[alt117]

Cool

I see what you did there, you replaced the s in Microsoft with the dollar sign.

Micro$oft

Very clever.

[jcwestbrook]

Typos!!!

... in the caption under the repackaged mouse it is referred to as a "Bluetooth muse"

[jenguevin]

Fixed

Thanks for pointing that typo out. It's been fixed.

Jennifer Guevin
Associate Editor
CNET News.com

[Lee in San Diego]

Well I could use one

A muse, it is late Friday afternoon and I have run out of creative
steam. I think I will take the beagles and head for the dog park.

Now one more thing in fanboy wars, the San Diego Chargers will
win over the Patriots this Sunday.

[andyross]

Different software?

I would assume the Mac version may come with a different CD containing Mac drivers instead of Windows? Or does the original CD have both already?

[Lee in San Diego]

Just plug it in probably

Well just turn it on, it probably doesn't need any drivers other than
what is built into OSX. I may be wrong about that and if so correct
me.

[imacpwr]

Just remove the "Microsoft" logo.

Many (if not most) of today's Mac users are ex-Microsoft users. The
last thing most of those "converts" want to use are hardware
products with the logo "Microsoft" plastered across it's face.

[Seaspray0]

Judge it for what it's worth

That's a totally biased attitude. That's like saying "I won't hire you because you're black." Why don't you judge a product on what it does and doesn't do and for what price. Will I buy one? No, and not because of the logo. I prefer a mouse that has a cord and no batteries. I have used microsoft mice in the past and found them to be good quality and long lasting but they tend to be more expensive than their counterparts.

[Penguinisto]

Puh-leeze.

My Mac has a Razor Diamondback mouse attached to it, and I'm certainly not the norm (I use it because it gives me extremely high precision when doing artwork, and it's pretty decent for games as well, which it was originally built for).

Most of the Mac users out there simply use the multi-button mouse that came with their specific machine.

Besides, if I want a MSFT type of mouse, I'll just go straight to the source and buy something from Logitech.

/P

[Vegaman_Dan]

Like, fer shure

I'm impressed you're using the Razor Diamondback mouse with your Leopard system, especially as I just looked at their site and they do not currently have drivers for it with Leopard. Check their FAQ file and they even acknowledge that currently they do not have drivers for Leopard for the product, but hope to at some point in the future.

How did you get a hold of drivers that the OEM doesn't even have yet?

http://www.razersupport.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=118&nav=0

[kojacked]

And the truth shall set you free!

"I use it because it gives me extremely high precision when doing artwork, and it's pretty decent for games as well,"

And it all makes sense now... Coloring and games; that's where you get your technical wisdom!

BTW, I'm using the wireless mouse that came with my HP computer and it works ok but my wireless Logitech and Microsoft mice of the past were better. Even with a mediocre wireless mouse I can't imagine going back to wired...

[Seaspray0]

cudo's

atleast you are basing your judgement on product performance and not solely on the logo like everyone else has been doing.

[WJeansonne]

Major News Story--Not!

Appleheads are ridiculous.

[wildchild_plasma_gyro]

Utilizing Super computer farms to aid mass programming

Basically if you developed some source code then put it into a farm the farm these day could theoretically be used to make the code more paletable for some one wanting to understand the areas of copding and such touched on by the programmer.
This sort of technology could be used to aid a bigger pull of people to get involved in programming.

[wildchild_plasma_gyro]

Sorry

Apart from a mouse bieng usful in this process and two buttons doubley so if used properly there isnt really much this topic has to do with the topic at. I just thought such a thing would be cool and a good race for google and microsft and the underdogs to get their teeth into.

[kelmon]

Does it need a dongle?

When I was searching for a good notebook Bluetooth mouse all the
ones that I found at the time either required the use of a USB
dongle and/or charging station, which wasn't terribly useful. In the
end I bought a Wireless Mighty Mouse but soon returned that and
went with a Logitech VX Revolution. The Logitech is a nice mouse
but I still have to attach a USB dongle (which does store nicely in
the mouse) in order to make it work. Does this mouse need a
dongle on a Mac?

[rbz275]

no it does not

Assuming your mac has integrated bluetooth, (I believe they all do) there is no need to use a dongle, even if it came with one. A bluetooth mouse will often come with a dongle for people who do not have integrated bluetooth in their computer. If you do have it, the dongle is unnecessary.

[The_Decider]

It is not a terrible idea

However, there is one change they didn't make which not only hurts sales among the MAC crowd, but with end-users in general:

The Microsoft logo.

[Andy kaufman]

Mac users only buy Mac certified hardware

so it has to have "Made for the Mac" on it.

Mac users are turned off by Windows and XP and Vista certification logos.

I am guessing the only difference between the Windows and Mac edition Microsoft mice is that the Mac edition has OSX drivers on a CD and the Windows edition has XP/Vista drivers on a CD.

[Penguinisto]

We do?

The RAM in my PowerMac was built by Crucial. I merely spec'd the numbers and bought the equivalent.

My Mac's mouse is a Razer Diamondback.

My Mac's monitor is (still) an NEC 25" CRT (because back when I bought it, you couldn't color-calibrate LCD screens with a spider rig).

The 2nd SATA HDD in this Mac is a Maxtor, which I bought from a local computer dealer.

My previous Mac, a G4 Cube, had a PC-built Radeon 7200 in it that I flashed myself to make it usable in a Macintosh.

/P

[JWilliams06]

Not surprised ...

Just purchased this mouse two days ago ... the packaging on the right obviously ... works great. Excellent little mouse, looks a little "Macish" from the beginning.

Most Apple users are not as intelligent and could possibly think that the "Certified for Windows Vista" could throw Apple users for a loop, even though on the side packaging it says it works fine for Windows Vista, XP and amazingly Apple OSX. Unfortunately, you have to be a little bit more blunt to Apple users.

As for the mouse, it's excellent... small -- no dongle sets up really easy. I'm sure the battery life isn't as good as a traditional optical wireless mouse, but still plenty good -- I'll have to purchase some rechargeable AAA batteries.

Good job Microsoft. :)

[Sock_Eating_Golden]

Thank you cnet for posting this article. I've wanted this mouse for a while and found some great deals on ebay. When the package got here is was the Mac packaging. Not only is the package different but it doesn't say "Windows" anywhere on it. I use windows and got concerned that it wouldn't work. There's only a hint at the bottom of the package where it says "universal." Even the system requirements don't list a Windows OS. The auction site listed the -00009 product code instead of the -00001 but didn't list the difference in packaging. Again thanks for letting us know it's the same product. Also for those wondering, there is no driver software disk with the package. Just the mouse, a case, and two AA batteries.